Institution news
Cherry donated 14 of her award-winning models to the Institution which many visitors come to see to admire her meticulous craftmanship. Her dedication to the art of model engineering inspires other engineers and set a standard of excellence in this field.
Chief Executive Alice Bunn OBE said:
“We are saddened to hear of the death of Cherry Hill who leaves a remarkable engineering legacy through the beauty and precision of her creations. Colleagues remember her undertaking research in the Institution’s library looking at early engineering journals such as the Engineer, to research the designs for some of her models which then could take many years to build.”
Cherry Hill is a well-known name to those in the model engineering world and her models are considered remarkable for their quality. She won the Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Trophy and the Championship Gold Cup 9 times, the highest accolades in model engineering. She received an MBE for services to model engineering a field in which women are under-represented.
All the models donated to the Institution are working models, to the scale of 1:16 or ¾” to the foot but once they are painted, they become static. Almost all the thousands of parts of each machine were fabricated or machined in her workshop from solid, castings were not used. Nothing was bought in, even the rivets were handmade. Some even contain tiny pieces of real coal.
Each model represents years of painstaking work for example Cherry’s 1863 Blackburn traction engine won her 9th Gold Medal and Challenge Trophy. The engine shows how critical research is, as there is no evidence it was built. Cherry researched Patent Office records, The Engineer and publications such as the Mechanics Magazine. When built the model operating speed was equivalent to a full-size speed of 6.1 mph. After running the model, it was painted, this took five months. In total, the model took 2 years to research and sketch and 7 years to produce full drawings and to construct. It contains around 7400 parts and took 7500 hours.
Cherry Hill was born into an engineering family. Her father, George, worked for the firm McConnell-Hinds, which made innovative hop-picking machinery. It was George who taught Cherry as he had a workshop at home. She also followed him career-wise and became a machinery designer.
Cherry’s first exhibited model won Bronze and her second Silver, at the International Model Engineering Exhibition. Since these early examples, her models have won every Model Engineer Exhibition competition they were entered in.
Her models are on display at Birdcage Walk and can also be viewed in 3D on the IMechE Virtual Archive
Images courtesy of David Carpenter